Many attempts were made, at the instigation of his mother, a woman of a haughty temper and bigotted principles, to reconcile him to the church of Rome. He, however, remained fixed in his religious opinions, though all his disputes with the priests who crowded round his mother were conducted with so much forbearance that his opponents did not abandon a hope of ultimate success. But this mildness met with an ungracious return: his younger brothers, and a sister, were perverted to the Roman Catholic mode of faith. Incensed by the advantage thus taken over extreme youth and inexperience, he wrote, while resident in this mansion, two large discourses against the principal positions of the Papists, "with that sharpness of style, and full weight of reason, that," in the opinion of Lord Clarendon," the church is deprived of great jewels in the concealment of them." The Church of this village is a handsome pile, chiefly Gothic, but with a round-headed door-case at the principal entrance, supported by pillars with diversified capitals. The interior is divided by two rows of Gothic arches. The pews are ancient, and without any doors, but are ornamented with much rude carving. Separated from the body of the church by wooden screen work, is a room called the manorial chapel. This was merely the seat belonging to the family of the autient lord of the district. In the chancel are many old brasses, among which is one containing the effigy of a man in robes, seated before a large erucifix. This is shewn, by some part of an inscription remaining on the edge, to be the effigy of "William Raynsford, Armiger, lately of the village of Great Tew, and Lord of the Manor." Inarched on one side of the manorial chapel are two proportions, carved in stone. The one is that of a cross-legged knight, resting on a lion; a shield on his arm, and a hand on the hilt of his sword. The other is the effigies of a lady, her feet resting on a bull-dog of the true English breed, which is in the action of springing forwards, as if to defend her. Her hands are crossed over the breast, in the attitude of supplication. It appears likely that a branch of one of the minor Roman roads ran near the village of Great Tew; and we have proofs that the Romans resided for some time in the neighbourhood. Dr. Plot mentions a tessellated pavement, ploughed up, somewhere about this village, which consisted of a matter much softer than marble, cut into squares, somewhat bigger than dice, of four different colours; viz. blue, white, yellow, and red; all polished, and orderly disposed into works." Some discoveries have, likewise, been very recently made. Disclosure, as usual, was promptly followed by destruction; but the resident clergyman of Great Tew, the Rev. Mr. Nash, took a written notice of every circumstance that came under his observation; and he has obliged us with a copy of his manuscript, We present it without any comment. "On the 22d of May, 1810, as some workmen were making a ditch for a threshing machine, under the direction of Captain Stenhouse Wood, at Beaconfield farm, in the parish of Great Tew, they found, on advancing up the hill, that the earth in many parts had been disturbed; and, occasionally, they met with bones, wood-ashes, and black earths like soot. Sometimes these were at the depth of three or four feet beneath the surface; and, in some instances, they came to them more readily. When their work proceeded to the Rick-yard, they were stopped by a wall of some strength, and an ante-passage, with an entrance-door walled up. When part of it was taken down, they discovered a Roman burial vault, nearly as perfect as when it was retained in use. It measured where disturbed twenty feet in length, and in width eighteen feet; the height was eight feet from the planking stones. It had a half-circle to the north, of rough stone, eight feet in diameter, which probably corresponded with a window of the temple that was built over it. The ball which Natural History, &c. page 327. appeared appeared to have finished the top was lying among the rubbish. "The human remains were laid in partitions of a dissimilar width, which crossed the vault from east to west, and were built with Roman red tiles, about eight inches and a half square. Many of the bones that had been covered with sand were very perfect; and the teeth of some of them were sound in the jaws. The partitions were two feet and a half deep, and were generally about the width of our graves. These sepulchral receptacles were covered with plank tiles, which had the same fresh appearance as when first taken from the kiln. Juvenal, in his Vth Satire, has these words: Exigua feralis cæna patella. In illustration of this passage it is observed, that the Romans used to place in their sepulchres, to appease the spirits of the deceased, a little milk, honey, water, and wine; together with olives and flowers. We examined the graves, or recesses, and found some of the small thin basins of black Roman pottery alluded to. Sometimes a red Roman ash urn was discovered among the rubbish. The dimensions of the red planking tiles were various. Some were eleven inches and a half square; others were twenty-three inches and a half square; and some were twenty-one inches by eleven inches. The whole were one inch and a half thick. "There were two tiers of sepulchral recesses; and above was a spread of planking tiles, covered with mortar and sand, to the thickness of about two inches, in which was set tessellated work. The squares were of various colours; white, dark, red, and blue. Some of them were white stones, covered; and others were formed of white or pottery clay. The ornaments were urns and serpentine lines. This appears to have been the temple floor. There were red earthen flues, about one foot and a half long, with equilateral triangles, inverted like an hour glass, and cut open for air holes on the narrow sides. The walls were all plaistered, except the half-circle to the north. Some of the plaister was as white as that made from burned shells. The temple had been covered in with small flat stones, such as are usually usually found in sand beds, with peg-holes on either side. The greater part of the persons buried were minores igne Rogi. "The Roman altar, where the sacrifices were burned, stood in the open air, twenty feet below the temple, to the south, and there were many ashes remaining, in much the same state as when originally left. "A Roman bath was afterwards found, on the north of the temple, and was abruptly destroyed. Many pieces of large red water pipe shared the same fate. There were also found several large ornamental red jars, and coins of copper and brass, the copper much defaced, but the brass in a good state of pre servation." Mr. Nash has, likewise, favoured us by observing that, "in the year 1809, as some workmen were digging a mill pond in a vale of the north field of the parish of Great Tew, which has communication with the Charwell and the Thames, and consequently with the sea, they met with a fossil bed, in which were found an immense quantity of seal's tusks, and the sockets of their eyes; sea eels; hen fish; oysters; cockles; and the tails of lobsters; in a dilapidated state." BARFORD ST. MICHAEL, situated four miles from the village last mentioned, is usually termed Great Barford, to distinguish it from a parish about half a mile distant in Bloxham hundred. The church has marks of considerable antiquity. The north door furnishes a fine specimen of the ornamented Saxon or early Norman style. From the lancet shape of some of the windows it may be presumed that the greater part of the building was constructed about the time of Henry III. The pulpit appears formerly to have been of stone. The base still remains, on which the present wooden pulpit was erected about a century ago. Fixed to the adjoining pillar is an iron frame, in which was antiently contained the sand glass that regulated the length of the sermon. In one of the windows are three diamond shaped panes of white glass, having a crowned H, of the Saxon form, in yellow; denot ing, ing, in all probability, the initial letter of Henry the sixth or Seventh, in whose reign the building was perhaps adorned with stained glass. The church-yard is singular for its inequality of surface, and for the great number of stones thrown up in the digging of graves. From these circumstances it seems likely that the church was formed of materials raised upon the spot. THE TOWN OF DEDDINGTON is situate near the Northamptonshire edge of the county, and is distant seventeen miles from the city of Oxford, and six miles from Banbury. The manor of Deddington was possessed, in the 12th century, by the family of Chesny. It was afterwards given by King John to Thomas Basset, Baron of Headington; who bestowed it (under the name of Dadington, alias Dedington,) in marriage with his daughter, on William De Malet, Baron of Cury-Malet, in the county of Somerset. But this William De Malet being taken in arms against the king, he was disseised of his lands, and the manor was restored to the Bassets. It appears to have been divided into three parts at an early period; for we are told that Humphrey, the good Duke of Gloucester, died possessed of a third portion. In 1420 the manor was valued at 131. 6s. 8d. It constitutes now three several properties; which belong to the dean and canons of Windsor; the dean and chapter of Christ Church, Oxford; and William Ralph Cartwright, Esq. Each appoints a steward, who holds a court baron. The court leet is held by them jointly. The town is small, and has no staple manufacture. The buildings are composed of the ordinary kind of stone produced in the neighbourhood, and are in general on a contracted scale. Some few houses soar above the others in character, and unite adornment with convenience; but these are truly few in number. The Oxford Canal is brought within two miles of the town, but it does not appear to have given any hints of extended commerce to VOL. XII. 2 H the |